Yesterday, Phish finally confirmed the rampant rumor, announcing their July 4th weekend festival at Watkins Glen International Race Track in the Finger Lake Region of New York state. With campgrounds opening at 12 noon on June 30th and closing at noon on July 4th, the stage is set for three full days of patriotic Phish and the first East Coast festival of this era! Superball IX, the band’s ninth festival, was unveiled with one of Phish’s more clever videos, to the delight of an announcement-starved fan base. (But no second leg dates….for now.)

The Clifford Ball - 1996

Get ready for hours of one-laned traffic on small highways in New York, because this ain’t Indio, California, folks, this is the Northeast—Phish’s home turf. With only eleven days between the end of Leg One and Superball IX, the band should be plenty warm when they hit the festival stage, and, hopefully, the monstrous feel of festivals past will return. Though Indio was a laid-back West Coast dream, highlighted by the Exile and acoustic sets, the rest of the weekend brought only spots of musical madness. But the band was still on the rise and regaining their chops in October of ’09; Summer 2011 will be an entirely different story. With no specialty sets to prepare for, one would hope Phish would come out and crush skulls as they did in every previous festival but Coventry. The Clifford Ball, The Great Went, Lemonwheel, Oswego, IT—these events were grandiose spectacles in every sense of the word, but when thinking back to the weekend playgrounds, my first memory is of the music.

Almost exclusively coming at the end of tours, festivals of lore were super-sized showcases of summer Phish, and the ban always delivered with spectacular shows. Each festival reflected the improvisational style of their respective tours with jams aplenty, and in festivals, the band usually pushed things just a little bit more. There is no need to type out the laundry list of household jams that sprouted from these festivals, they are monstrous memories—unforgettable experiences—that live on within us and on tape. But that festival sound defined them all; that open-air thunder that traveled a bit slower than usual as the notes bellowed across the field, growling out of sets of speaker towers three-deep; that booming sound and toned down tempo allowed every note to fully blossom before the next one began. And the space in the music expanded as well; jams—literally—became larger than life, enveloping 70,000 brains at once. And at Watkins Glen, this could happen all over again.

Summer Jam - 1973

To up the ante just a bit more, Superball IX will be the first concert held at Watkins Glen since the legendary “Summer Jam” of July 28, 1973—a one-day show featuring The Grateful Dead, The Allman Brothers, and The Band that drew a world-record 600,000 attendees. Many historians estimate it to be the largest single gathering of people in the nation’s history, outdrawing Woodstock almost two to one. And now, Phish will step on this hallowed ground (thankfully with a far smaller crowd) and write their own slice of history into the books.

Tickets go on-sale Monday at noon for $200 a pop, and you can find all the details, information, and humor on the official Super Ball IX website. See you in the Finger Lakes!*****

As we prepare to turn the calendar to April, only four months stand between us and the alleged start of Phish’s second leg of Summer Tour. Trey and Mike have both completed their solo runs, June’s on-sales have come and gone, and yet still we have no dates confirmed for August. At this point, the delayed announcement, first rumored for last Tuesday and then for yesterday, has turned into a situation for more than a few puzzled fans. An older fan base who, collectively, has more life commitments than ever before needs more than a few months to plan its summer vacations, and with the lack of any definite dates for August, many people are being left in limbo.

Superball 9?

On the very same token, there has still been no news about Watkins Glen. Except for the hacker-discovered (assumed) title of the festival—Superball 9—there has been no information announced regarding the details—or the confirmation of–the event. If, indeed, the Watkins Glen fest is to take place on July 4th weekend, that is only three months away. Though far fewer people will have to take vacation days to hit up the holiday-weekend fiesta, planning needs to be done, plane tickets purchased, RVs rented (if they haven’t been already), among other things. After posting the lyrics to “Contact” on his race track’s website, Michael Printup, better known to the Phish community as @theglenprez, has been surprisingly silent, while last week he seemed as giddy to announce the festival last week as a middle-schooler who just had felt breasts for the first time and couldn’t wait to tell his friends. To quote a question Cliff Clavin posed repetitively in his one-time stand-up routine—“What’s up with that?” At this point, one has to believe there is a reason for the delay, but what is it? You’re guess is as good as mine.

UIC? (Pollock)

One rumor about the delayed announcement of any further Phish shows is that management wants to first see more ticket sales for June’s East Coast shows. Let me be of help here: if you want East Coast Phish shows to sell out faster, or at all, play less shows! Sure that sounds like the last thing you would ever hear me say, but from a business perspective, if that is really the problem, then why supersaturate the Northeast with concerts? Some things I will never understand.

Nonetheless, we can guess and second-guess as to why things haven’t been announced yet, but until the dates drop, that is all we can do. Sorry for the lack of real hard facts here, but there is nothing to go on at this point except rumors. And speaking of rumors, wouldn’t it be great if the one saying Phish will play three nights at UIC Pavilion in Chicago, instead of Deer Creek and Alpine, came true? It has gained steam in the past weeks, but until we hear officially, we’ll just keep guessing and making tentative plans with refundable deposits and courtesy holds all across the nation.

With the NCAA Basketball Tournament moving through the prime-time rounds of sixteen and eight today and tomorrow, here is another form of March Madness that can accompany the games: March Phish! With the exception of one selection this week, all tracks are pulled from the month of March in Phish history, focusing primarily on the years of 1992 and 1993. (And most are in SBD form.) Enjoy the music and the hoops, and have a great weekend!

In the wake of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that recently hit northeastern Japan, yesterday Phish announced the official release of 7.31.99‘s iconic performance from the Fuji Rock Festival’s Field of Heaven as a benefit for the Japanese people. The show will be remastered by Fred Kevorkian and released in both download and CD formats, with all proceeds going to Peace Winds America. All funds collected for disaster relief will go to support operations through their sister organization, Peace Winds Japan. Relief operations are currently underway in Miuyagi Prefecture, where Peace Winds is on the ground providing food, clothing, medicines and temporary shelter to survivors. With an inevitably abrupt transition, let’s now take a look back at the show selected for release.

Right after the their US Summer Tour concluded in Deer Creek on July 26,1999, Phish hopped across the Pacific Ocean to make their first appearance in Japan at the Fuji Rock Festival in Niigata. And ever since the 40 minutes of “2001 > Bowie” traveled from the Field of Heaven back to America, this show has been one of legend. One of the finest “Bowie’s” of the late-’90s built into an intricate psychedelic beast in the intimate wooded setting of the Field of Heaven. And coupled with a smoking and extended ’99-style “2001,” this segment has lived in lore since it happened. But there are other treats in this show as well.

8.1.99 - Japan (phish.com)

First and foremost, late in the second set Phish played one of the greatest versions of “Prince Caspian” of their career. The usually uplifting song reached a whole ‘nother level on this night, and the result was nothing short of astounding. Carrying a far slower pace than usual—a characteristic that defined all of Phish’s playing at open-air Field of Heaven—the band patiently built one “Caspian’s” most cathartic versions. With searing guitar licks amidst a laid-back groove, Trey screamed from his soul through the entirety of this majestic highlight. Mike and Page joined in the climactic jamming while Fishman framed the piece with an unusually slow and dramatic beat.

Following this all-time “Caspian,” Phish stepped right into “Fluffhead,” maintaining the triumphant feel of the latter part of the night. One last explosive peak on this signature set gave way to a “Squirming Coil” denouement. And even the encore included something special. Before any song started, Tibetan monk Nawang Khechog came on stage to discuss human rights in Tibet. When he was done, Khechog performed a meditative piece with on a traditional horn with Fishman on vacuum, and then joined the band on wooden flute for “Brain and Robert.” The show finished with an experimental jaunt though “Simple” as Trey built his solo into furious sheets of sound over the band’s mellow textures. Morphing into to a searing-turned-ambient-turned-rocking jam, the band never stopped bringing IT until the show’s final cymbal crash. The first set is no slouch either, highlighted by a gorgeous “Limb by Limb,” a tar-thick “Free” and a particularly snarling version of “Character Zero. Needless to say, the band was on all night—and all weekend—at Fuji Rock.

Pollock '99

It’s great to see Phish using their music for a good cause, but it seems like a odd move to choose a show that widely circulates in soundboard fashion to generate donations. (Some believe it to be a pristine audience recording.) While I am sure Kevorkian’s treatment will juice up the recording and provide a considerable upgrade, why not drop something completely new from Phish’s Japanese exploits—specifically Summer 2000? Aside from the already-released gem from Drum Logos in Fukuoka (6.14.00), the band played several other monster shows during that tour—an awesome run that represented their last full-on gasp of creativity before slowly winding down over the rest of summer and fall towards Shoreline. Why not drop the Tokyo “Tweezer” and the On Air East show (6.9.00) or the Zepp-Osaka tour-closer (6.16.00) and its next-level “Runaway Jim?” And there are also stellar options in between, such as Zepp-Tokyo (6.10.00) and The Big Cat in Osaka (6.15.00). Despite all these choices however, the organization definitely chose a stellar show for remastering; a gorgeous portrait of Summer ’99. I just hope, for charity’s sake, that as many people buy the upgrade as would a brand new show.

The expected release date of the download at LivePhish will be April 15th. The expected ship date of the CD from Phish Dry Goods will be May 10th, though pre-orders are being taken now through both sites.

In the past, charitable downloads at LivePhish.com have raised over $100,000 for four non-profits: the Harbor House of New Jersey (The Headphones Jam), the New Orleans Musician’s Clinic, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Fund (Katrina Relief) and the American Red Cross (Haiti Relief). Additionally, the Mockingbird Foundation receives funding on an on-going basis from the proceeds at LivePhish.com.

With the announcement and on-sales of Summer 2011’s opening leg behind us, the announcement of both Watkins Glen and summer’s second leg are now the next imminent off-season events. Plenty of rumors have swirled about the year’s only festival and the path of August, and now the community awaits the confirmation of both. With an announcement video looming, let’s look at the possibilities and probabilities for the rest of summer; first Watkins Glen.

Watkins Glen’s President, Michael Printup, has been blowing up his Twitter feed (@theglenprez) with not-so-subtle hints about Phish’s forthcoming festival. Last Friday, he tweeted “I think I am going phishing this weekend!” only to follow up with another message saying “I can’t wait until Monday!!!! Huge….large….biggest news ever coming from The Glen!!!” Adding one and one together, much of the community expected Phish’s rumored festival for July 1-3 to be confirmed on Monday. But when Monday came, so did another Tweet from Printup: “Oh boy….I think my good news is delayed!!! Sorry……but stayed tuned!!!! Mpp.” As fans peppered him with virtual questions, he stated both “not intentional….just trying to get a deal done!” and then seven hours later, “we are ok….just need time!” So where do all these hints leave leave us?

Phish Summer 2011

Well, for one, there will clearly be a Phish festival happening at Watkins Glen this summer. But with the push back of the announcement, one theory that has popped up among fans—though unlikely—is that the festival will take place at the end of Summer Tour rather than as a stand-alone, July 4th celebration. While all sources have pointed to a patriotic Phish party, perhaps the band has bumped the festival to the far more logical time—to conclude the summer (and possibly the year.) Festivals have traditionally ended summer tours, with Oswego (mid-tour), Big Cypress and Indio (standalones) as the only exceptions. The rumored Watkins Glens dates have always seemed odd, as Phish will inundate the North East (including New York state) with shows in June and then, as it has been rumored, head right back there for a massive festival on the first weekend in July? Hmmm. Soon enough we shall find out.

Harvey's Outdoor Amphitheatre - Lake Tahoe

Perhaps the announcement of Watkins Glen will now coincide with the more significant announcement of summer’s second set of dates (loosely rumored to drop next Tuesday.) But through various tour dockets circulated on the Internet, the general path of leg two has more or less been figured out. Phish will likely start The Gorge for a hotly-anticipated multi-night stand on August 5 (with, perhaps, a show before to warm up.) From there, the most likely scenario I’ve heard is a long-awaited, one-night stop at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles before heading back up north for what could be the two of the prize shows of the summer at Harvey’s Outdoor Amphitheatre right over the California/Nevada border at Lake Tahoe. As idyllic a setting for a Phish weekend as any, Tahoe would provide the community with a couple nights in the mountains, and the intimate, 7000-person shows could turn into the only tough tickets of the summer. Phish will likely wind up their west coast stint with an appearance at San Francisco’s Outside Lands Festival, a rumor that seems all but solidified.

After this West Coast swing, the word on the street is that Phish will work their way back across the country, finishing up on the East Coast towards the end of August (just in time for a festival). The rumored stops along the way have included many of the usual suspects such as Colorado, Alpine, Deer Creek, Chicago, Star Lake, SPAC, Jones Beach and Hartford. Perhaps all of these will materialize or perhaps different dates will intersperse the mainstays, but the path of West to East during August seems like a forgone conclusion. Maybe the timing of the festival is the detail holding up both announcements and they will drop together in the near future. But until anything is posted on Phish.com, all we have are rivers of speculation. Might as well jump in.

As many of you have likely noticed, I’ve been posting far less frequently during this off-season, and I wanted to take this opportunity to let you in on why. I am not losing interest in Phish or Phish Thoughts, but rather have been working on creating a book: an anthology of my writing. Currently, I am spending most of my waking hours working with my editor, getting the book dialed in to perfection. This leaves me very little time at night to create the original and thought-provoking blogs you’ve come accustomed to reading over the past few years. So in the interest of letting everyone in what I’ve been up to, here’s a little bit about the book.

The anthology chronicles 2009, Phish’s comeback year—beginning with the Hampton reunion all the way through New Year’s in Miami—from the perspective of a loyal and passionate fan who was there to witness the band’s rebirth, their return to prominence, and everything in between. As Phish came back into our lives, a certain vibrancy and magic returned along with them. This book is also the story of what it felt like, as a fan, to recapture a dream deferred for five years—one we thought had been taken away forever.

Red Rocks '09 (Graham Lucas)

Anyone who remembers Phish’s first night back at The Gorge, has listened to Albany’s “Seven Below > Ghost,” or was down south for Miami’s Holiday Run can attest to the magic that laced Phish’s first year back together. This book recounts one of the most important years in the band’s career, and puts it in the context of all that came before it, through anticipatory pieces, enhanced show reviews and musings on all things Phishy.

The anthology will be split into two halves: the first following the band’s comeback year and the second serving as historical context for the first, looking at different facets of Phish’s illustrious history and touching on everything from legendary eras and memorable shows to classic jams and the vibrant culture surrounding the band. By no means attempting to comprehensively cover a 20-plus year career, this part of the book will, nonetheless, allow fans reminisce on moments they’ve enjoyed and give new fans a glimpse into the band’s storied past.

Indio '09 (G.Lucas)

To make this project come to life, I am working with BAJ Design, an independent publisher and design firm based in Philadelphia, and we are collectively committed to create a book that will delight the eyes and properly represent Phish’s awesome legacy. Shooting for a release by the holiday season, this book will make an excellent gift for all the Phish fans in your life! In the coming weeks check back for details on a new website dedicated exclusively to the book.

This is a very exciting time for me and this book represents a long-time dream that is very much in motion. While Phish Thoughts is the perfect place to get your daily fix, the book will provide a permanent and visually-stunning documentation of Phish’s golden age. As I continue to move through this process, I will do my very best to get articles posted more frequently in the coming weeks, and obviously as tour approaches. Please know that it is not that I am leaving Phish Thoughts hanging, but working hard on a long-term project that you will be able to have in hand before the year is up.